


Your Devoted Friend

by Chocolatebuttonsandbooks



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Inspired by Bridgerton (TV), Pining, Right?, Slow Burn, Yes you read that right, friends to sort of enemies to friends to lovers, its regency period inspired fantasy, there is death but not of your main gals so don't worry, they fake date to avoid having to marry other people, they're friends what could go wrong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:34:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29878449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocolatebuttonsandbooks/pseuds/Chocolatebuttonsandbooks
Summary: The season in London approaches, and Waverly wants only to get through another year avoiding being drawn into scandal and spending time with her head in her favourite books. Her father has other ideas, and she is instead forced to find love or manage to outwit him somehow.Death haunts Nicole's family, yet she wiles away her days lusting for a married woman and spending her father's money. How much will she change when an old friend walks back into her life?Yes this is my fantasy/regency era/Jane Austen/Bridgerton inspired AU. There WILL be letters written, scandalous secrets, fake dating, dramatic confessions of love and maybe even a duel?
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Your Devoted Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to whatever this hot mess is. Basically I've taken a lot of the classic tropes and ideas from regency works and romantic fiction based in that time. I have to state that this is NOT an Historical AU as I take some of the fashions, flavours and class relations of that time but it is firmly in the fantasy category.  
> In this world titles and class works similarly to the regency period (I'm aiming for a 1820sish vibe), however, the first born child (whether boy or girl) is able to inherit titles and estates. Gay marriages are common in this AU. Sexual preference is not judged, only status, money and honour truly count.  
> Warning- Nicole is in a relationship (sort of) with Shae for a few chapters of this fic. Just a heads up if that's something you can't vibe with.

_Dearest Reader, I'm sure you are as excited as I at the prospect of another busy season in our fair Town. As anxious Mamas prepare their sons and daughters to woo and court their ways to a perfect match, I am watching for the most intriguing aspect of the season: scandal._

_Be sure I will uncover all salacious secrets that will nip at the heels of the Ton this season and impart them to you._

Flipping over the already creased pamphlet, Waverly frowned down at the continuation of gossip on the reverse.

_When one mentions scandal, one cannot forget the most unfortunate Viscount Earp who finds himself with a second born he must now coach into his heir and no partner running the household to help him. Oh, his woes know no end, and are surely made tenfold worse by his widely reported drinking habit. His new heir, one Honourable Miss Wynonna Earp, will be presented to all and looking for a match this season. I wish her luck in this endeavour._

Waverly grit her teeth and clenched the paper tighter.

_On the matter of the recently widowed Earl Haught, this Author extends sincere condolences, and notes that his daughter, and heir, has still not found a suitable partner to share in the responsibility of undertaking such a renowned and illustrious title when such a day comes. The Haught's must assuredly be looking for a suitor this season amongst the many others._

Waverly let out a disparaging tut, drawing the eyes of her sister, who snatched the paper from her hands with practiced ease.

"Why are you giving your typical 'disapproving' look?" Wynonna asked, scanning the gossip rag as some pothole outside the carriage jostled them side to side.

"Writing about a family who have just lost someone like that is utterly tasteless."

Wynonna snorted. "I find it hilarious this 'Lady Mayfair' has everyone absolutely shitti-"

A single glare from their father cut her off. "Wynonna. Need I remind you how _vital_ it is that you start acting with some semblance of respectability? Lest our family slide further into disrepute."

"Need I remind you that we are this far _in_ disrepute due to your own actions?" Wynonna's blue stare was icy.

Waverly fidgeted with a loose thread on her dress, eyes down as the hairs on her arms stood up.

"You are lucky," their father replied to the challenge, "that we are about to arrive." As his threat hung in the air like a promise, the carriage pulled to a stop and the door was opened.

In the early spring light, Waverly squinted to see the group of staff welcoming them to their townhouse, but she smiled and nodded, trailing after her father's surer gait, the clicking of his cane against the steps a metronome she knew well to keep up to.

* * *

Not long after the last desperate cry was pulled from her lips, Shae, panting and glowing with the most becoming sheen, turned to Nicole and said, "my Husband will be back soon."

Any remaining desire in Nicole's thrumming body melted away at that word: _Husband_. How it haunted her. "Yes. Of course." She looked down at her half-clothed body and sighed, rolling back to her feet to begin the search for her waistcoat.

"Don't act so glum, dearest." Shae stretched out her long limbs and sat, dragging her slow gaze from the ceiling to Nicole.

"I fear I will not find my finest waistcoat." Nicole slid on her boots. "It is very dear to me."

"Perhaps you are not looking hard enough," Shae teased.

" _My_ effort cannot be questioned when it comes to things I adore," Nicole muttered, sifting through a sheet that had been kicked to the floor in their reckless passion.

"Remember to take-"

"The servant's door on my way out. Yes, I know." Nicole finally disentangled her paisley waistcoat from the mess and yanked it on. 

"Will you be coming to my ball tomorrow evening?" Shae asked.

A flash of anger, so different, yet just as heated as the desire she had felt earlier, curled in Nicole's stomach. "I will be attending. For a short while, Lady Stansey." She used the proper form of address, knowing it would frustrate Shae, but hating that it served only to remind her that the woman she loved belonged to someone else.

"Good. It would do you well to meet a few more young ladies this season."

A sharp barb to Nicole's heart, but she made it to the door whole. She decided no retort to Shae’s comment would be worthwhile. "I'll ask them to bring you some tea."

"Thank you, darling."

Through muscle memory, Nicole's legs led her down the hall, to a back staircase, worn and sagging from years of service worker's weight, and creaked down to the kitchens.

The smell of the servant's early breakfast lingered, and Nicole nodded at the Cook, long since given up on escaping the house without being seen. "A tea in the master bedroom if you would be so kind, Miss George?" She gave a smile.

As always, the poor woman was wide-eyed and rosy cheeked at her appearance, and she dipped into a hurried curtsey. "I will have it sent up, Lady Nicole."

"Thank you." Nicole strode to the door, tilting her head down a moment before stepping into the fresh air. "Have a good day," she said, leaving the Marquess of Stansey's townhouse.

* * *

A summons to her father's office had Waverly adjusting her pinned up hair, twisting her hands together until she mustered the courage to knock on the door.

"Enter," came the call from inside.

The plush rug softened Waverly's footsteps, the room chill and musty with the lack of fire that Viscount Earp requested. "You wanted to speak to me, father?"

"Yes." He moved aside some papers and stood from his high-backed desk chair. "You will be married by the end of the season," he said offhandedly.

Waverly's stomach swooped. "I- excuse me?"

"I have left you to your own devices for too long now. Your mother-" he paused to take in a deep breath then let it out, his unfinished sentence hanging over their heads. She had left them both. Now they were stuck in this tentative war, Waverly's mother having always been the soothing balm of peace between Viscount Earp and his children.

Waverly watched her father's knuckles whiten where he gripped the side of his desk. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I don't want to marry for the sake of being married, or for a title. I want to marry for love."

"Well then, I suggest you fall in love rather quickly."

"Please, father-"

"Keeping you here is an extra expense, an extra responsibility that I do not need."

Waverly closed her eyes. She'd suspected, since she was a child, that she wasn't wanted by him, but to hear it so plainly stated was crushing. "I have until the end of the season?" 

"Yes." He pulled his chair back. "And if you aren't making noticeable progress, I will find someone suitable for you." He sat back at his desk. "You are dismissed. Prepare for tonight's ball."

Waverly left his office with glazed eyes, mind spiralling as she considered the kinds of suitors he would pick out for her. Old. Desperate. Of ill repute. She recalled dressing, but didn't say a word as her Lady's maid, Amy, brushed rouge on her cheeks. Even the sounds of Wynonna slinging insults at their father downstairs didn't register, despite their pitch raising to a shouting match.

"Are you quite well, Miss Waverly?" Amy asked, her confidence in their friendship enough to break the silence.

"I am fine, thank you Amy." Waverly forced a smile onto her face, the first of what would undoubtedly be many that evening.

* * *

Thousands of candles draped the bustling ballroom in a golden glow. Nicole finished her drink and adjusted the tie at her neck. This many gossiping, dancing, pompous peers made for a warm atmosphere. Hardly ideal for the conservative fashion that was expected of them.

How she hated the expectation. The need to pretend she wanted to be present to drink and prance about like a fool. Her mother would've listened to her complaints and told her it was only for a short time, that she would be back in the gardens and forests around her ancestral home so many miles North of here soon enough. It was her as much as their home that Nicole was missing. No amount of pouting would make her mother appear when she next returned to Haught Tower.

Her eyes wandered to one of tonight's hosts with an inevitability that made her sigh. Shae was as graceful and beautiful as ever, greeting her guests, slender arm linked through her husband's. The flickering candlelight naturally drew the eye to her collarbone, the curve of her neck, offset by a glittering necklace of shining silver, encrusted with large, winking gems that were worth more than any stones had a right to be. And God, did Shae carry that weighty responsibility well.

"What is it like, to be in love?"

"Frustrating. Terrifying. Exhilarating. One of the only things that feels worthwhile," Nicole answered in a breath before realising she'd spoken aloud. She snapped her gaze to the person next to her: a familiar young woman in a teal coloured dress, dark brown hair held up with a couple of curling strands framing her face. She gave Nicole a knowing, twinkling smile. "What I mean to say is, that is what I expect. From poetry and such," Nicole stumbled out, embarrassed at being caught a lovestruck fool.

"Your secret is safe with me." There was something in those hazel eyes that Nicole recognised. Yet, trying to place this woman eluded her. A name tingled on the tip of her tongue, almost forming from some ingrained instinct, but then it was lost again.

Nicole risked a smile. "Thank you."

The woman looked over Nicole's shoulder and frowned. 

An intruder broke into their discussion. "Ah there you are! I believe we are due to dance?" If the ostentatious jacket that screamed more money than taste wasn't enough, Nicole would recognise this man from other events and clubs in town. 

"Oh, hello again Lord Champstone," the woman replied, her discomfort plain to Nicole in her eyes and fidgeting hands that she moved behind her.

"Unfortunately, this dance is taken by myself," Nicole stated, holding her hand out with a raised brow.

"Yes." The woman placed her gloved hand into Nicole's. "Perhaps I will see you later."

Nicole didn't wait around to hear his reply, instead she guided her new companion to the dancefloor. "You would do well to avoid him. Although, I have a feeling that was your intention already?"

The woman nodded. "Thank you. For saving me. He's been chasing me all evening."

"I try not to be a hypocrite, but he has a reputation for compromising young ladies."

The woman gave Nicole a scrutinising stare. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

Nicole faltered a step before schooling herself back into the dance. "I'm awfully sorry. I feel as though I know you but cannot place your name."

"And here I thought you would remember us running around Haught Tower as children all those years ago."

The memories hit Nicole in a sudden wave, crushing the breath out of her momentarily as she fumbled with the notion that this was Waverly Earp. "Fifteen years. I think," she whispered.

"So you _do_ remember!" Waverly's smile was startling, and Nicole recalled games of hide and seek in gardens with bronze and red leaves, skipping along the sun-speckled paths of her ancestral home with laughter on their lips and mischief in their hearts.

"It all comes back to me. I-" Another revelation kicked her in the chest, pressing against her ribs, as she remembered why they hadn't talked in so long.

"Lady Nicole?" Waverly danced back towards her with concern in her downturned mouth.

"Should- will your father allow this?"

Waverly's face turned to a grimace. "I find myself caring less and less what my father will allow."

Others around them, dancing couples and gossiping mamas with rapidly emptying glasses, were noticing them now. The whispers chewed at Nicole's reddening ears, but she couldn't pull herself away from Waverly. Not this time. "I am in a similar situation, I-."

"Waverly!" A harsh stage-whisper broke into their discussion and Lord Earp grabbed Waverly away before the next dance, loud enough that Nicole could hear, "associating with the Haught’s is forbidden. A wretched family and a wretched heir, she is. Spends her time cavorting and philandering, something you will not get involved with," before they stepped too far away to be heard.

Rage bubbled and pressed at Nicole's skin, warmed her face, but she stood straighter and strode from the dancefloor. Only Lord Earp would be so brazen as to make a scene and embarrass someone of a higher social station than his declining family. She would need to remember as much if she saw any of them again.

She approached the only person she knew she would find some semblance of comfort with and grabbed a drink on her way. "Granny." Nicole didn't need to force a smile when her Grandmother's kind, wrinkled face lightened up.

Surrounded by other older women and widows, leaning on her cane, The Dowager Countess Haught gave Nicole a prim nod, before lowering her voice so only Nicole could hear. "Tell me, dear: you aren't shaken by the opinion of a man who means so little, are you?"

The familiarity of her scathing observations drew Nicole in like a wasp to something sticky. "Not at all. An abhorrent family and a most disagreeable man."

"Very good. Hold your chin high. You are a Haught." She linked her arm through Nicole's, and they stood together, Nicole's eyes drifting across the vast room to the Earp family, where Waverly was clearly being berated by her father, her sister standing close by her side. "Rather handsome daughters, aren't they?"

Nicole hummed. "Yes." She shook her head and frowned at her grandmother. "The nature of the Earp girls is not of my concern."

"Perhaps not." She gave Nicole a curious look, as if she knew more, or knew some secret only she was privy to. "The youngest was always a sweet, curious little thing."

"You remember their visits?" Nicole asked, her curiosity breaking the thin veil of aloofness she'd constructed.

"Are you implying I am old, child?" Her grandmother gave her a quick wink, something Nicole knew was reserved only for her. "I remember their visits well. As I'm sure you do. You were always so excited for them."

Nicole finished her drink. "I longed for the company of other children close to my age. Haught Tower can be a lonely place."

"That it can." She squeezed Nicole's arm before stepping back. "If you will not listen to your father, listen to me. You do not want to be rattling around in that cold, old place alone."

"Gran-"

"Go and dance, Nicole. Find someone to enjoy your life with."

Nicole stepped away from her grandmother with a roll of her eyes. She searched the room and found Shae, her husband leading her in a dance, and Nicole couldn't find it in herself to ask anyone else. An evening spent skulking at the edges of the ball instead, then.

Her plan was foiled when the first of many rather desperate Mamas began to introduce their daughters and sons. Nicole had to marvel at the effect one Lady Mayfair and her gossip paper had caused in the population. A mere mention of her father's intention to have her marry and her reputation as a firm loner was shattered. Tragic, really.

Politeness dictated she not wave them all off, but Nicole would not entertain anything further when she had no plans to court or marry if she had a say in it. It was not fair to pretend with someone when Shae kept Nicole's heart in her grasp.

**Author's Note:**

> Adjusting character's names slightly to fit them into this AU made me giggle when writing. Lord Champstone it is, I guess!  
> Please comment or give kudos or whatever. Or ask any questions you have about this AU as I will either answer your comment or clarify next chapter in the notes.  
> Thank you as ever for taking time to read this and get this far.  
> I promise you they won't be able to keep Nicole and Waverly apart for long!


End file.
